Blindness has blinded his eyes?

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (1 John 2:15 translated from the NA28 Greek text)

If we are not prayerful and become careless in our own abiding in our Lord, we can become distracted and then susceptible to the wiles of our enemy to become discouraged and even despair about distractions all around us coming from the current state of Evangelicalism. On the other hand, when we are in the heat of battle and God is using us, it is amazing how clear we can see the compromises. We see believers with a love for truth and a profession of faith, but also with a love for this world and the things of this world that becomes evident in those compromises. When this takes place in “Christian leadership” what are the evidences we should look for? Are there consistent ones that obviously point to ones that we can say, “Blindness has blinded his eyes?”

In the passages we are going to work through (1 John 2:7-17) we will see the evidences of those who are walking in that darkness and those who aren’t. However, before we do that I would like to share one other observation. I know that “Christian” liberals will disagree with me on this, but the number one evidence of someone who claims to be a Christian, but who walks in darkness because the darkness has blinded his eyes are those whose view of the Sacred Scripture is something other than the infallible, complete and inerrant inspired Word of God. I witnessed this as I was doing some research on Roger Olson at Baylor University and his book Against Calvinism. In that book, on his own website, and in other sources, his consistently uses the following “reasoning” to refuse to believe in the Sovereignty of God as we understand it as plainly revealed in Sacred Scripture. What is that “reasoning?” He says that he does not care what the “literal interpretation” of the Bible says about it. If what it literally says is against what he believes then that proves that taking the Bible literally is foolishness. He even says that if it was proven to him that the God of the Bible that we worship, who is Sovereign and does as He pleases, was proven to be the real God then he would refuse to worship him. Yes, that is right, if God does not line up with his own idea of his nature for God then he is not worthy of his praise. That is what he says. This is the same sort of argumentation that I have found atheists using.

That view of Christianity is with man at the center and God as not Sovereign. I find that description nowhere in the Word of God. The temporal view of handling the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ has resulted in the sad silliness that is being played out all around us in our time. Yes, there are pockets of churches with good pastors. What is the difference? The difference is that where it is done right, God is over all. He is Sovereign and his Word is his truth that reveals him to us. His Word, therefore, is preached as is commanded within it. God, therefore, blesses this and we grow spiritually into mature Christians, as is the will of God. This whole process involves much more of course. We operate as a church serving one another, et cetera. Those who grow strong in the Word like this are not very likely to fall for the fads and every wind of doctrine such as ‘seeker-sensitivity,’ the Charismatic movement, “Loves Wins,” “The Shack”, “The Prayer of Jabez”, “The Message”, “Open Theism,” “New Calvinism,” et cetera.

7 Beloved, I do not write a new command to you, but an old command that you have had from the beginning. The old command is the word that you heard. 8 Again, I write a new command to you that is true in him and in you because the darkness is passing away the true light is already shining. 9 The one who says he is in the light, but who hates his brother is still in darkness. 10 The one loving his brother abides in the light and there is no cause for stumbling. 11 But, the one hating his brother is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know where he goes because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
12 I write to you little children because your sins have been forgiven because of his name.
13 I write to you fathers because you have known the one from the beginning. I write to you young men because you have overcome the evil one.
14 I wrote to you young children because you have known the Father. I wrote to you fathers because you have known the one from the beginning. I wrote to you young men because you are strong, the Word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 Because all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride about life’s possessions is not of the Father, but is of the world 17 And the world is passing away and the lust of it, but the one doing the will of God remains into the age. (1 John 2:7-17 translated from the NA28 Greek text)

If you take this passage and compare it with the “message” coming from so much of what calls itself “evangelicalism” these days, you will find a mixed bag to be sure. First, there is a decided confusion about the purpose of the Church so there is confusion about salvation itself and, therefore, the Gospel. However, John had no issues with telling everyone plainly that the Gospel is all about what he shared in vv12-14. Sins are forgiven for the sake of Jesus’ name. Those whose sins are forgiven have overcome the evil one. These same ones are strong in the Lord because the word of God abides in them and they have overcome the evil one. However, let us be frank. Those John was writing to obviously heard the real Gospel preached to them and believed. They were also being properly shepherded by a good pastor who cared for their souls. Therefore, they heard the Word preached and so the Word dwelt in them along with the living Word because they were in Christ. They were also taught to not love the world, but to love Christ and hope in him and therein, do the will of God. However, notice that those whose love is for this world do not possess the spiritual light within and prove it by being in spiritual darkness. This is marked by them stumbling, but those in the light do not stumble.

Think with me about those in our time who are so-called Christian leaders, but who make astounding blunders, partnering with obvious heretics or those with questionable theology at best. These “face plants” are actually examples of stumbling because of being in spiritual darkness. Be discerning my brethren. Pray for wisdom and always be ready to forgive as these men come under the conviction of the Holy Spirit and repent. Always pray for that. However, if they do not, they will only grow worse and worse and then it will be more than obvious. Sad, so sad…

5 thoughts on “Blindness has blinded his eyes?”

Hi Mike,
Thank you for this post. Your translation of 1 John 2:16 (last part) “and the pride about life’s possessions is not of the Father, but is of the world” caught my attention because I have a dear brother who struggling in his recent marriage due to his low status job compared with his wife’s high status job which she lords over him. I thought the verse “the pride of life” in his wife’s case which most Bibles interpret that way applies really well to this woman. I did a search on the BLB site to find out how other Bible versions interpret it. Your interpretation seems to eliminate that prideful self-accomplished idea by limiting it to possessions only thereby missing a huge realm of pride.
I don’t know any Greek so you might be 100% correct, but I have to compare other scriptural sources (to be a good Berean).

16 ὅτι πᾶν τὸ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ, ἡ ἐπιθυμία τῆς σαρκὸς καὶ ἡ ἐπιθυμία τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν καὶ ἡ ἀλαζονεία τοῦ βίου, οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς ἀλλʼ ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου ἐστίν. (1 John 2:16 NA28) The word in question is βίου, which literally means “life’s possessions.” It is the Genitive, Singular, Masculine form of βίος. What does that mean? The Genitive case is talking about something like this, “Love of God.” In Greek the word for Love would have Genitive case ending as βίου does here. What does this tell us? It tells us that there is a head noun here that is not βίου, but pride. Also, the word itself in usage can mean, “possessions, wealth, daily life”. Greek is not English. Therefore, a working tranlation would be, “Because all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and lust of the eyes and the pride [about] the[this] lifes’possesions is not of the Father but is of the world.” In my research on this translation, I found that most translations used “Pride of life” rendering “life” for βίου, when actually βίου does not precisely mean that. If we think through what John is saying then it is only a subtle difference between the two, but they are different. I prefer my rendering because I see it all the time. I see people having a pride in life based upon their possessions or position or job, or whatever. That being the case, both renderings work don’t you think?

Ok. I guess I was thinking of “life’s possessions” as material things only such as car, house, boat, clothes, etc. However if “possessions” includes non material things such as job, social status, education, degrees, etc. then I would agree with your interpretation because as you, I also see that pride of possessions in the world.
Not just “out there,” but in me. When Christ poured out His mercy on me, He shone a huge light onto those things in my life and I had to surrender all those things which were my idols, they were the most important things in my life. I did not even realize it that those THINGS were my gods. My job, my bank account, social status, my life plans (I was 29 at the time) my wife, my family. I had to surrender everything. It is difficult to describe that event but I had to give them all up before Christ took His rightful place as SAVIOUR and LORD within my life.
Then when I began to read the Bible and discovered words such as “he who loves father or mother or daughter or son more than me is not worthy of me” I had one of those AHA! moments. And “a man’s life does not consist in his possessions,” another AHA! moment.
He took all those POSSESSIONS away from – but then He gave them all back. They are all gifts from him. ALL that I possess is a gift from Him and I get to use and enjoy these things for a short while and then once more I will have to let them all go….

Therefore, I urge you brothers through the compassions of God to present your bodies as living, holy sacrifices, well pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service. And do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may discern the will of God, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect.

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. (Colossians 1:24-26 ESV)

The way of escape

"To believe that He will preserve us is, indeed, a means of preservation. God will certainly preserve us, and make a way of escape for us out of the temptation, should we fall. We are to pray for what God has already promised. Our requests are to be regulated by His promises and commands. Faith embraces the promises and so finds relief." - John Owen

How to be free from bondage to our flesh and temptation

"If we do not abide in prayer, we will abide in temptation. Let this be one aspect of our daily intercession: 'God, preserve my soul, and keep my heart and all its ways so that I will not be entangled.' When this is true in our lives, a passing temptation will not overcome us. We will remain free while others lie in bondage." - John Owen

Meta

About me

My name is Mike Ratliff. I am a δοῦλος (slave) of the Κύριον ᾿Ιησοῦν Χριστόν (Lord Jesus Christ.) I have been a Bible teacher since the late 1980's. I am currently learning Koine Greek, which I began in 1992 and will continue to do so until the Lord takes me home. I am Reformed in my theology because I recognize that God is Sovereign over all things. I write these posts as God directs. I am also part of the discernment team at Christian Research Network.

OTHERS MAY, YOU CANNOT

by G. D. Watson

If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. Matthew 16:24-25

If God has called you to be truly like Jesus in all your spirit, He will draw you into a life of crucifixion and humility. He will put on you such demands of obedience that you will not be allowed to follow other Christians. In many ways, He seems to let other good people do things which He will not let you do.

Others who seem to be very religious and useful may push themselves, pull wires, and scheme to carry out their plans, but you cannot. If you attempt it, you will meet with such failure and rebuke from the Lord as to make you sorely penitent.

Others can brag about themselves, their work, their successes, their writings, but the Holy Spirit will not allow you to do any such thing. If you begin to do so, He will lead you into some deep mortification that will make you despise yourself and all your good works.

Others will be allowed to succeed in making great sums of money, or having a legacy left to them, or in having luxuries, but God may supply you only on a day-to-day basis, because He wants you to have something far better than gold, a helpless dependence on Him and His unseen treasury.

The Lord may let others be honored and put forward while keeping you hidden in obscurity because He wants to produce some choice, fragrant fruit for His coming glory, which can only be produced in the shade.

God may let others be great, but keep you small. He will let others do a work for Him and get the credit, but He will make you work and toil without knowing how much you are doing. Then, to make your work still more precious, He will let others get the credit for the work which you have done; this to teach you the message of the Cross, humility, and something of the value of being cloaked with His nature.

The Holy Spirit will put a strict watch on you, and with a jealous love rebuke you for careless words and feelings, or for wasting your time, which other Christians never seem distressed over.

So make up your mind that God is an infinite Sovereign and has a right to do as He pleases with His own, and that He may not explain to you a thousand things which may puzzle your reason in His dealings with you.

God will take you at your word. If you absolutely sell yourself to be His slave, He will wrap you up in a jealous love and let other people say and do many things that you cannot. Settle it forever; you are to deal directly with the Holy Spirit, He is to have the privilege of tying your tongue or chaining your hand or closing your eyes in ways which others are not dealt with. However, know this great secret of the Kingdom: When you are so completely possessed with the Living God that you are, in your secret heart, pleased and delighted over this peculiar, personal, private, jealous guardianship and management of the Holy Spirit over your life, you will have found the vestibule of heaven, the high calling of God.